Matthew is a Partner in the Life Sciences group at Carpmaels. He spends his time counselling clients in the pharmaceutical and chemical sector on strategies for maintaining market exclusivity in Europe. In this role he has advised the world’s largest drug companies on how to protect their intellectual property. At the core of Matthew’s practice is his experience representing clients before the European Patent Office in ex-parte examination proceedings and inter-partes opposition and appeal proceedings. He has handled complex multiparty opposition proceedings (in attack and defense) relating to a variety of commercial products and his endeavors for clients have taken him all the way to the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal. Alongside this, Matthew has experience advising on SPC strategies and regulatory exclusivity relating to medicinal products in Europe.  He also has experience in providing litigation support in circumstances where parallel EPO and national court proceedings are pending. Matthew is a European and UK patent attorney and a registered UPC representative .  He is a Vice Chair of IPO’s European Practice Committee.

Daniela Gill-Carey holds a dual qualification as a European and as a UK Chartered patent attorney and is currently an associate general patent counsel within the UK IP department of UCB Biopharma. She supports all patent-related activities of various pre-clinical and clinical programs and biopharmaceutical technologies. Daniela started her career in the patent department of Procter and Gamble, before joining the pharmaceutical sector in 2008, first at TEVA and then at Novartis. Prior joining UCB, she led the IP department of Proteome Sciences, a British/German bioscience company. Before entering the patent profession, she received a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Zurich and a MSc in Intellectual Property Law from the ETH in Zurich (Switzerland).

Nick Noble specializes in high-tech patent work and handles large volumes of high value work in the fields of telecoms & standards, electronics and healthcare technology. His academic background and 20 years’ experience has led to him being recognized as a leading telecoms patent expert. He advises his clients on all aspects of patent protection, including the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, opposition proceedings, freedom to operate, and infringement and validity opinions and he has particular experience of standards-related patent matters. Nick works as an extension of his clients’ teams and is to them a valued trusted advisor.

Nathalie Wajs is a Partner and a Patent Attorney at Plasseraud IP. She works on cases relating to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, polymers, petrochemicals and catalysis for individuals, companies and research institutes. With more than 15 years of experience in intellectual property, she advises individuals, large groups and research institutes in the development and management of their patent portfolios: patent applications, granting procedures, legal advice (freedom to operate, audit of IP portfolios) and valuation, in the chemical sectors. She has developed a recognized expertise in litigation and opposition proceedings before the EPO. Nathalie started her career in IP in 2004 at L'OREAL, where she was responsible for foundation and powder products. Nathalie joined Plasseraud IP in 2008 and became a Partner in 2023.

Kate Cappaert is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson and focuses her practice on all aspects of intellectual property litigation.  Kate leverages her legal and industry experience as a mechanical engineer to help clients navigate intellectual property disputes across a variety of venues, and has appeared in cases before the US International Trade Commission, federal district courts throughout the United States, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Christopher Clancy, as VP, Legal & General Counsel, is focused on IP, commercial, compliance, employment and M&A issues. Christopher has worked at Panduit in the following roles since 2001:  Patent Attorney (2001-06); Assistant Patent Counsel – Electrical Group (2006-10); Patent Counsel – Electrical Group (2010-11); Chief Patent Counsel (2011-2016); and VP, Legal & General Counsel (2016-present).  Christopher also serves as the Corporate Secretary (2018 – present). He graduated from Northwestern University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and received his law degree from The John Marshall (now UIC) Law School in 1997 with a Juris Doctorate.

Matt Rizzolo is a litigator with Ropes & Gray who works extensively with technology companies to both enforce clients’ intellectual property rights and defend clients from infringement claims. Matt leads the firm’s practice in Section 337 actions before the United States International Trade Commission and has significant experience litigating patent cases in a variety of jurisdictions, including federal district courts throughout the United States, the Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit, and before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board. Matt frequently writes and speaks on a wide variety of intellectual property issues, and is a sought-after commentator who has been quoted in media such as The National Law Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, and Law360, among others. He is a co-host of Ropes & Gray’s IP(DC) podcast, which focuses on intellectual property developments emanating from Washington, DC, and is a Vice-Chair of the IPO’s U.S. International Trade Commission Committee.  

David Hammond is a partner at the European IP firm Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP, practicing in the FMCG, life sciences and healthcare areas with a particular focus on small and large molecule therapeutics, microfluidic-based lab-on-a-chip technologies and food tech.  David is part of HLK’s specialist Oppositions team, regularly representing clients in EPO opposition and appeal hearings.

Wayne Jaeschke is a patent attorney in the Johnson and Johnson Global Legal Organization with close to 30 years of experience providing counsel to clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical device fields.  Wayne currently serves as co Vice-Chair to IPO’s International Patent Law and Trade Committee and Chair of the WIPO and International Patent Practice sub-committee.

Chris Johns is a partner at Finnegan. He focuses on patent application drafting, prosecution, and portfolio development. He also works on litigations, ITC investigations, PTAB trials, and appeals. He provides domestic and international clients with strategic IP counseling. Chris works on matters in a variety of technical areas, from telecommunications and business methods, to medical devices and household goods. Before private practice, Chris served for nearly five years as a USPTO patent examiner. Chris co-authored and co-edited a recent book covering patent eligibility issues in more than a dozen countries.

Mauricio Samano is a senior associate at the patent department of the Mexican based law firm OLIVARES. His work in OLIVARES mainly focuses in prosecuting Chemical, Biotechnological and Pharmaceutical patent applications, as well as in providing technical opinions regarding patent infringement. He has experience in conducting state of the art searches and drafting patent applications. Additionally, he is a member of the International Patent Law and Trade Committee, as well as of the Latin American Practice Committee of Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) organization.

Shruti Costales is a Legal Director at Dell Technologies. She is a licensed patent attorney and has worked in private practice, in-house, and with the Federal Government. Shruti has 20+ years of deep legal experience in handling Intellectual Property (IP) transactions, complex commercial transactions including drafting and negotiating XaaS agreements and handling FED/SLED agreements, product counseling, procurement transactions, due diligence and mergers & acquisitions related assessments, patent counseling, patent litigation, patent and trademark application drafting and prosecution. Her experience includes working in the technology (XaaS, IoT, AI, HW, and SW), healthcare (including biotechnology, medical devices, and pharmaceutical – small molecule and large molecule), chemical (including catalysts and polymers), semiconductor, and petrochemical/energy industries. Shruti has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and her JD from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire School of Law). She is the co-chair of the Diversity & Inclusion committee for the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) where she has co-authored many white papers and guides. Shruti loves reading mysteries, writing poetry, and sewing. 

Keisha Hylton-Rodic, Ph.D. is a registered patent attorney with a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. She specializes in assisting pharmaceutical companies, start-ups, universities, chemical companies, and venture capital funds, achieve their IP objectives. Dr. Hylton-Rodic’s practice includes patent procurement, patent-related risk assessments (including freedom-to-operate, IP due diligence investigations, non-infringement, and validity), design-around strategies and opinions. She has extensive experience developing and managing domestic and foreign patent portfolios in a variety of technical areas including biotech, chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and paper.

Rachael Rodman is an accomplished litigator who concentrates her practice in the area of IP litigation, and has experience representing clients in variety of cases involving patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret claims. She also has experience in complex business litigation, and has litigated cases involving contract, shareholder, and non-compete disputes. In addition to her substantial trial experience in state and federal court, Rachael has extensive appellate experience, in both Ohio and federal appellate courts. Prior to beginning her litigation practice, Rachael clerked for the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Second Appellate District.  She has participated in arbitrations through the American Arbitration Association and the dispute resolution forums of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the American Health Lawyers Association.

Elaine Spector is a patent attorney with over 20 years of experience in intellectual property law.  Her current practice consists primarily of prosecuting patent applications with a focus on electromechanical technologies. Prior to joining Harrity & Harrity, Elaine worked in private practice for over 15 years handling various intellectual property matters, including patent application drafting and prosecution, trademark prosecution and enforcement, as well as litigating complex patent cases in federal courts. Elaine’s extensive litigation experience provides her with a unique perspective in prosecuting patent applications. Most recently, Elaine worked in-house for 6 years at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, where she managed over 500 matters in medical and software related technologies. As an avid believer in giving-back, Elaine serves a Board Member at No More Stolen Childhoods. She is also dedicated to improving diversity in the field of patent law through her numerous diversity leadership roles. Elaine hosts Driving Diversity, a weekly vlog sharing diversity-related tips and FAQ’s, as well as quarterly webinars in a series called Diversity Dialogue as part of Harrity’s Diversity Channel.

Starting in 2018, Steve has been a Co-Chair (and now Immediate Past Co-Chair) of the IPO International Patent Law and Trade Committee. In this role, Steve worked as a member of the IPO Special 301 Comment team. This team consolidated input from IPO committees and members to prepare drafts of IPO’s Special 301 comment letters to the U.S. Trade Representative. Before 2018, Steve was an active member and Vice Chair of the IPO Asian Practice Committee. 

During Steve’s twenty years at Medtronic, Steve was Senior Legal Director - International IP and IP Policy, Chief IP Counsel – Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure, and Lead IP Counsel Neuromodulation. Prior to that he was IP Counsel at 3M representing various medical device businesses and handling IP transactions, particularly medical device acquisitions and divestitures. Following his recent “retirement” from Medtronic, Steve continues to volunteer for IPO.

Dean Harts is Vice President Data Privacy, Associate Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, and interim Chief Privacy Officer for 3M Company.  He also leads 3M’s Global Trade Secret Protection Program team.  Prior to his current role, for the past seven years, he was the Assistant Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for 3M’s international operations, with over 50 employees in more than 10 countries.  Earlier in his 3M career, Dean served as the Assistant Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for 3M’s healthcare business, and 3M’s electro & communications business.  Before these IP management roles, Dean was IP counsel to several different 3M businesses in St. Paul, Minnesota and Austin, Texas.  Dean earned his Juris Doctor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has been admitted to practice with the Minnesota bar, US District Court of Minnesota, and the US Patent and Trademark office.  Dean earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Sharon Reiche is Senior Corporate Counsel and Head of Pfizer’s Global Intellectual Property Policy & Advocacy team.  In her role she leads a team that works on intellectual property policies that advance the protection of Pfizer’s substantial investment in research and development.   She also co-leads the Legal Division’s undergraduate summer student worker program at Pfizer.

Sharon represents Pfizer on the IP Committee of various industry trade organizations, and is the co-Chair of the International Patent Law & Trade Committee at the Intellectual Property Owners Association.   She holds a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. She is admitted to practice law in New York.

Bill Warren is a Partner in the law firm of Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, advising clients on strategic intellectual property issues primarily in the life sciences sector, but also in a number of other industries. Bill prosecutes patents, counsels clients on patent validity and infringement issues and prepares product clearance opinions and development strategies. He also negotiates technology transfer licensing agreements and conducts intellectual property due diligence. 

John Cheek is Vice President & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for Tenneco Inc., one of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of clean air and ride performance products and systems for the automotive, commercial truck, and off-highway markets and the aftermarket.  In addition to his enterprise role, Mr. Cheek also leads the IP group Tenneco’s DRiV division, which focuses on ride performance and aftermarket automotive parts.  Prior to joining Tenneco in 2017, Mr. Cheek was senior IP leader at Caterpillar Inc., where he served in leadership roles in the US and Europe. Prior to joining Caterpillar in 1997, Mr. Cheek was in private practice. Mr. Cheek received an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from Wabash College and completed additional undergraduate studies in Physics and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Dayton and Bradley University. He also received a J.D. from the University of Dayton and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He is a regular lecturer on intellectual property strategy and management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and currently serves on the Executive Committee for ACPC and the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for IPO. 

Beth Ferrill is a partner in Finnegan’s Washington, DC office, where she counsels clients who hold design patents as well as those accused of infringement. She has experience with design patents related to consumer and industrial products, medical devices, transportation and construction vehicles, and graphical user interfaces and icons. She has prosecuted families of design patents before the USPTO, directed prosecution in foreign in countries, and argued appeals before the PTAB. Beth currently serves as the co-vice chair of IPO’s Industrial Designs Committee.

Joshua Simmons focuses his practice on appellate and trial court litigation, intellectual property counseling and strategic portfolio management, as well as regulatory and legislative policy.  This “exceptional” and “creative” (Chambers), “Top Attorney” (Law360), and “big-picture thought leader” (WTR) litigates copyright, patent, right of publicity, trademark, trade secret, and unfair competition cases—particularly complex cases and those of first impression—along with contract, licensing, and domain name disputes.  In addition to maintaining a full-time litigation practice, Josh is a member of Kirkland’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and the Coordinator of its New York Kirkland Pride affinity group.  He also is a frequent speaker and author on emerging trends in intellectual property, as well as an active member of the intellectual property bar, including serving as Vice Chair of IPO’s Copyright Law & Anti-Piracy Committee, and a former Vice Chair of its Software-Related Inventions Committee.

Kyle Migliorini is an attorney who focuses his practice primarily on trademark and copyright law. Mr. Migliorini received his JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he was a member of the Notre Dame Intellectual Property Law Society and the Notre Dame Trial Team and a legal intern at the Notre Dame Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic. He was the recipient of the Dean Konop Legal Aid Award for his work representing various clients in trademark and copyright matters at the Clinic in 2018.

Chris Ott is an experienced attorney with a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry. He is skilled in Trademark Infringement, Legal Writing, Intellectual Property, Licensing, and Contract Negotiation.

Lara Ameri is an associate in the intellectual property litigation group. Lara has a wide-ranging IP litigation practice that includes patent, copyright, trademark, false advertising, and trade secret matters across a variety of fields including wireless technology and telecommunications, e-commerce, software, retail, and data storage. Lara has experience in district court litigation from pre-suit analysis through trial preparation, including drafting pleadings, summary judgment motions, and briefs, preparing for fact and expert witness depositions, and assisting with damages assessments. Lara also has an active pro bono practice in which she works with clients to obtain asylum. 

David Armendariz practices trademark and copyright law with a primary focus on litigation and policing. David represents clients in contentious matters before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and federal courts throughout the country. His experience includes four years with Vinson & Elkins LLP. Before entering private practice, David served as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra H. Lehrmann on the Supreme Court of Texas. David earned his J.D. with High Honors from The University of Texas School of Law, where he was a Chancellor. David also served as Articles Editor for the Texas Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Peter Brody has been successfully litigating intellectual property cases and other complex disputes in federal and state courts across the United States for over 30 years. A member and former chair of Ropes & Gray’s intellectual property litigation group, Peter has litigated every type of IP case –patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark, and false advertising - as well as a wide range of constitutional, administrative, and contract disputes. Peter also has substantial experience in alcoholic beverage laws and regulations. In addition to his trial and appellate practice, Peter has served as lead counsel in numerous domestic and international arbitrations, as well as hearings and proceedings before federal and state administrative agencies. Peter’s broad-based litigation experience enables him to see the big picture and to present complicated and technical matters in a clear and easy to understand manner.

Jon Jekel is an attorney with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and author in California, where he advises clients on a wide variety of domestic and international copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, data privacy, and business-related matters. In his free time, he writes science fiction, practices yoga, rides a Peloton, kayaks around San Diego, builds furniture, and collect LPs.

Alex Lodge (he/him/his) is a Louisiana native, but he has made the Midwest his home. After finishing his degree in Chemistry at Grambling State University, Alex moved to Iowa to pursue a doctorate in Organic Chemistry. After finishing his doctorate, Alex pursued a law degree at the University of Iowa College of Law. Alex is currently IP Counsel with Cargill, Inc. His experience includes patent procurement, handling both U.S. and foreign patent prosecution, assessing risk mitigation through freedom-to-operate and invalidity opinions and IP patent portfolio management. Alex enjoys music, family, friends, reading, and being engaged in the community. Alex is actively involved as a mentor, the Kappa Alpha Psi Guide Right Program, and leads pro bono efforts related to conviction expungement, arrest record correction, and pardons in the Greater Madison, Wisconsin area. Alex is a recipient of the State Bar of Wisconsin Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award, Urban League of Greater Madison Rising Star Award, and Wisconsin Law Journal’s Up and Coming Lawyer Award.

Denise A. Robinson (she/her) is a diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) and well-being consultant, yoga teacher, and former practicing labor & employment attorney. Through her consultancy, The Still Center LLC, Denise performs cultural assessments, provides strategic advice, and delivers training on DEI, well-being, and other talent development topics. In addition, she has directed benchmarking surveys and other think tank projects to advance DEI in the workplace. Before starting her consultancy, Denise served as the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for O’Melveny & Myers LLP and subsequently, the Diversity Officer for the International Monetary Fund. Denise has been teaching yoga asana and meditation classes for over a decade and applies her knowledge and experience with these contemplative practices to her DEI work. Denise earned her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College, and she is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, where she served as the chapter president of the Black Law Students Association and a student advocate in the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. 

Sanjiv Sarwate is Senior Legal Director - Trademarks with Dell Technologies and has been with Dell since April 2011. Before that, he was in private practice in Chicago specializing in trademark and copyright law. He is the primary attorney with responsibility over trademarks at Dell, with an emphasis on anticounterfeiting and online trademark enforcement. He is a frequent speaker on trademark issues, including before the US Patent and Trademark Office, the European Intellectual Property Office, and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, as well as a past chair and current member of IPO’s Anti-Counterfeiting Committee. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a masters’ degree from the University of Chicago.  

Dr. Antje Brambrink is an attorney-at-law (Counsel) at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner in Munich. As patent litigator Antje advises and represents clients in complex, often cross-border patent disputes. She regularly acts before all German patent courts, including infringement, inspection, compulsory license and nullity proceedings at the Federal Patent Court and the Federal Supreme Court. Her expertise covers a wide range of industries and technologies, including high-tech, renewable energies and in particular life sciences, where she benefits from her dual qualification as dentist with a Ph.D. in pharmacology.

Jakob Kellenberger is a Senior Director and Associate General Counsel for Procter & Gamble in Belgium. In this position, Mr. Kellenberger is responsible for P&G’s Global Home Care- and European Fabric Care-IP. He oversees a group of Patent Professionals located in P&G’s Newcastle, Schwalbach and Brussels Innovation Centers and advises Procter & Gamble’s senior management on intellectual property issues. Mr. Kellenberger has authored numerous P&G patents and patent applications, has led a number of oppositions/appeals and hearings in the EPO, has been involved in license agreements, acquisitions and divestitures, in mediation and in IP litigation. Mr. Kellenberger holds a MSc with a focus on Molecular Biology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidg. Tech. Hochschule - ETH) in Zürich and a Postgraduate degree in IP law from the same school. He is a Qualified Representative before the EPO, and has over 25 years of experience in IP.

Leo Steenbeek (LLM, MSc) is Principal IP Counsel at Philips, and is registered as a European and Dutch patent attorney.